Improvement in capstans



PATENT OEErcE.

JAMES BEES, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPRVEMEN'T IN CAPSTANS.

Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 150,'9, dated May 12, 1874 application liled August 2, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BEES, of Pittsburg, in the county of 'Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Steam-Gapstan; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters .of reference marked thereon.

It is well known that the hulls of vessels almost invariably become bowed either athwart the beam or lengthwise. Particularly is this the case with vessels having shallow hulls and great proportionate breadth of beam, such as are employed upon the Mississippi river and its tributaries. Hence, any mechanism secured to the hull of such vessel, and dependent upon nice adjustment for its operation, is liable to be displaced and rendered useless, or endanger the safety of the vessel. To obviate these defects and overcome these dificulties is one of the objects of our present invention.

The invention relates to an arrangement for operating the capstan of a vessel; and consists in anumber of vertical shafts properly journaled, and provided with gear-wheels and pinions meshing into each other, and actuated by a gearing on the engine-shaft, and arranged as near together as a proper operation will permit. Thus, if the hull sags, the displacement of the gearing and the bending or breaki ing of the shafts are practically avoided.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the capstan C and appurtenances. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the hull of a vessel, showing a side elevation of a device embodying the elements of the invention.

A in the accompanying drawings is the hull of a vessel. B is the deck; E, the cylinder of an auxiliary engine mounted upon the. bedplate D, and provided with the valve-rod w for controlling the movement of the piston-rod. e is the piston-rod sliding upon the bed-plate F, and having its front end linked about the crank H of the engine-shaft g, which works in bearings in the deck and hull. Above the crank H is provided the recessed eccentric L, about which fits the yoke of the valve-rod y.

Above the eccentric L is secured the fly-wheel p, and above it the pinion t' meshing into the vertical spurgear wheel j secured near the upper end ofthe shaft 7c journaled in the hull and deck. Below the wheel j is secured the pinion Zmeshing into the spur-gear wheel m on the spindle or shaft M, the upper end of which extends through the deck and through a hole at the vertical axis of the spool X of the capstan, its upper extremity being rigidly se? cured at the center of the top-head w of the capstan C, which head is provided with apertures, through which the pins t may be passed into coincident apertures in the upper end of the spool X, thus securing the head and spool together, and insuring the movement of the capstan as the spindle Mis rotated. Above the gear-wheel m is placed the pinion u, gearing' into the gear-wheel o, mounted upon the shaft p, journaled into the hull, and working upon a bearing secured in the deck, above which the shaft extends, and is provided with a rigidly-secured vertical feather, Z, in that part of the-shaft above the deck.

All' the shafts and spindles are vertical, and in the present instance are placed in the same vertical plane 5 but they may be grouped or otherwise placed, as desired, it being only necessary that they stand vertically and in such position that the gearing mechanism will mesh. When arranged` in groups it is expedient to mount the shafts upon bed-plates or heavy timbers. All the wheels gearing inthe present instance are vertical. l

From the above it is evident that no shrinkage or sagging of the hull or deck will affect the position of the shafts and gearing, which, therefore, obviates the dangers and defects first aforesaid. y

Motion being communicated to the capstanshaft M and the head w through the intermeA diate gearing, the spool X remains stationary l ter, which causes the pinion to rotate, and, shaft of an engine, for the purpose of operatmeshing into the spur-gear V secured at the ing and in combination with the capstan, subbase of the spool X rotates it and greatly in stantia-liy as shown and described.

creases the traetve power of the device.

What 1 claim as my invention7 und desire JAMES BEES' to secure by Letters Patent, is c Witnesses:

A series or group of vertical-geared shafts, A. C. JOHNSTON. arranged in juxtaposition and actuated by the J. D. JONES. 

